ニュース記事

Posted on: 18th September, 2017

Ron Tan is somewhat bemused that his mother cannot understand what he does. The CEO and executive director of Cityneon Holdings recounts how he had explained to her that his company built Marvel’s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibition, which was shown in Singapore earlier this year. Her response was to look quizzically at him and ask: “What do you do again?”

Fortunately, he appears to have better luck explaining to investors. Following some recent corporate action, the 46-year-old is now steeting Cityneon firmly into the immersive exhibition business. Cityneon already has licenses to produce and distribute exhibitions related to Walt Disney’s Marvel’s The Avengers and Hasbro’s Transformers brands. The company recently bought JP Exhibitions for US$25 million ($33.8million), which will give it intellectual property (IP) rights for Jurassic World: The Exhibition.

Tan thinks such blockbusters exhibitions will do very well in large, uniform markets such as China and parts of Latin America. “Especially Brazil, which has 300 million people, and a lot of them are fans [of Marvel characters],” he says. “Singapore will be a tough market because we are all in meeting rooms, but the ticket price will be higher. [In China and Latin America], tickets prices will be lower than [Singapore’s] but the numbers will make up for it.”

He has wooed the former executive creative director of creations at Cirque du Soleil to join him. Welby Altidor will oversee the creative direction of all Cityneon’s blockbuster exhibitions. Tan is also trying to restructure Cityneon’s other businesses, which include designing and building theme parks, pavilions and expos. He reckons the margins of these businesses will improve as he brings costs down and wins more contracts.

From neon lights to dinosaurs

Cityneon started out 61 years ago as a supplier of electrical appliances and neon lights. It later expanded into doing installation works for retailers and exhibitors. The company was listed in 2005. Three years later, Malaysia-listed Star Media Group bought a controlling stake in Cityneon.

When Cityneon found Tan in 2014, the company was battling stagnating revenue growth. Tan, on the other hand, was running the very exciting business of building exhibition booths featuring Marvel characters. His company, Victory Hill Exhibitions, had designed an initiation ceremony for exhibition visitors to be inducted into the Avengers team. The whole set included interactive superheroes, quizzes and high-tech gadgetry, and had managed to earn rave reviews from fans of the comic series and the blessings of Disney and its subsidiary Marvel.

Aiming to lift its earnings and win over investors, Cityneon acquired Victory Hill for $20 million in August 2015. Cityneon raised $15.9 million through a one-for-one rights issued at 18 cents each to finance the acquisition. It also issued Tan 45 million Cityneon shares at 20 cents each.

The acquisition of Victory Hill has increased Cityneon’s market value by more than six fold – from $40 million in 2014 to $264 million today. Shares of Cityneon, after adjusting for splits, have returned just over 380% over the last three years. Last year, the company earnings per share grew 290% to three cents.

But Tan always felt that he could do more. And earlier this year, he got his chance. Hong Kong private equity firm ZHJ Capital told Tan that a couple of Chinese investors were interested in working with him. ZHJ had backed Starclouds Entertainment Development, which is Cityneon’s partner for the operation of the Transformers Experience in China, Macau and Hong Kong.

After meeting these investors – Geng Zhihua, a Chinese investor with a focus on high-growth companies, and Hong Kong listed packaging manufacturer Jin Bao Bao Holdings (now known as Teamway International Group) – Tan decided to join hands with them. He had received offers from other investors with potentially better financial terms, but he wanted someone he could work with. “I needed a partner who would agree with what I want to do,” he says, “a partner who would give me a certain amount of autonomy to do what I want to do to bring [Cityneon] to the next stage.” He adds that these investors have contacts in China. “They put forth a couple of introductions for us there that could [lead to potential partners for our exhibitions].”

The three parties formed a special purpose vehicle called Lucrum 1 Investment to make a takeover offer to Star Media in May this year. Star Media disposed of its 52.5% stake or 128.5 million shares at 90 cents each, bagging a $68.7 million disposal gain. Lucrum now owns 69% of Cityneon while Tan owns 15.5% of Lucrum.

Cityneon has since announced a new board of five members, consisting of Tan, the chief financial officer of Teamway International Group, and three independent directors. Shares in Cityneon have come up 18% since the announcement of the takeover offer, closing at $1.065 on Sept 14.

Profitable business

The movie-based exhibitions business, which Cityneon calls its intellectual property rights segment, is the company’s most profitable segment. It made up 18.3% of revenue last year, but 60% of earnings. For 1HFY2017 ended June, revenue from the IP business increased 60.8% to $16.5 million. It made up 33% of the group’s revenue. Earnings for the period rose 62.4% to $7.7 million.

Analysts expect Cityneon to book higher revenues and earnings following the acquisition of the IP for Jurassic World, which Cityneon will have the rights for till 2027. Cityneon paid an upfront fee of US$20 million for these rights. An additional US$5 million due if the sets make US$5 million earnings for the 12 months to January 2018. “Given such a strong franchise and track record, its purchase price of five times forward earnings is attractive, versus the 7.5 times earnings that Cityneon paid for Victory Hill Exhibitions,” says CIMB Research.

The Jurassic World exhibition saw 430,000 visitors in the six months it was display in Melbourne, Australia, and 400, 000 visitors over five months in Philadelphia, the US. Tan expects more than one million visitors for Cityneon’s Chicago Jurassic World set, which has been on display since late May and will end its run in January 2018. “The Chiago exhibition is bigger than previous sets. We have more velociraptors running around,” he says.

The exhibition will tour two other US cities after Chicago. Tan says Cityneon is building another set for Asia, a process that takes about five months. The company is likely to produce a one-off exhibition for Jurassic Park’s 25th anniversary. UOB Kay Hian projects yearly visitors of 600,000 for Jurassic World.

Tan also has a pipeline of Transformers and Avengers exhibitions until 2019. Cityneon has one permanent Avengers exhibition in Las Vegas and three travelling Avengers sets. The first is in Taiwan until this month end. Analysts say this set is expected to tour three countries in Europe after, ending its run in 2Q2019. The second set is in Beijing, China. The third will tour Sydney, Australia, starting March 2018. A Transformers set will debut in China this coming November.

For travelling exhibitions, Cityneon typically partners other players that will take on operational risks. Cityneon takes an upfront fee and a 20% to 30% royalty fee on everything ranging from tickets to sponsorship. It also takes a cut from merchandise sales. According to CIMB, 10% of tickets sales is payable to Marvel.

For Cityneon, the biggest risk is the cost associated with building the display. The first exhibition of a new IP can be very costly. The first Jurassic World set cost US$6 million, and subsequent installations cost US$5 million. Nevertheless, the payback can be lucrative. The gross profit margin for a travelling set is around 85%, while that for a permanent exhibition is around 60%. The Jurassic World exhibition recorded a net profit of $3.3 million for the period between April and December 2016.

“These exhibits are evergreen and remain successful long after the movie run in theatres,” says Al Lieberman, executive director of the entertainment, media and technology programme at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “In some ways, it is the reason for the continuing success of Madame Tussaud’s wax collection of movie, music and television stars.”

CIMB projects Cityneon’s earnings to be $15.5 million this year and $22.8 million in 2018 – up substantially from $6.7 million in FY2016. The new projections are based on higher revenue contributions from the Jurassic World IP, additional financing costs for bank borrowings, higher capital expenditure for new sets and a stronger oder book from Cityneon’s other businesses. The brokerage has a “buy” call and a price target of $1.40.

UOB Key Hian, too, has a “buy” call but a more bullish price target $1.50. “We raise our 2018 to 2019 net profit estimates by 12.2% and 7.5% respectively as we account for the new Jurassic World exhibit,” the brokerage says. “We have removed our dividend forecast as the group focuses on expansion. The stock now trades at a bargin of 10.1 times FY2018 forward earnings versus its peers’ average of 15.4 times FY2018 forward earnings, with a superior ROE.”

Posted on: 18th September, 2017

Ron Tan is somewhat bemused that his mother cannot understand what he does. The CEO and executive director of Cityneon Holdings recounts how he had explained to her that his company built Marvel’s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibition, which was shown in Singapore earlier this year. Her response was to look quizzically at him and ask: “What do you do again?”

Fortunately, he appears to have better luck explaining to investors. Following some recent corporate action, the 46-year-old is now steeting Cityneon firmly into the immersive exhibition business. Cityneon already has licenses to produce and distribute exhibitions related to Walt Disney’s Marvel’s The Avengers and Hasbro’s Transformers brands. The company recently bought JP Exhibitions for US$25 million ($33.8million), which will give it intellectual property (IP) rights for Jurassic World: The Exhibition.

Tan thinks such blockbusters exhibitions will do very well in large, uniform markets such as China and parts of Latin America. “Especially Brazil, which has 300 million people, and a lot of them are fans [of Marvel characters],” he says. “Singapore will be a tough market because we are all in meeting rooms, but the ticket price will be higher. [In China and Latin America], tickets prices will be lower than [Singapore’s] but the numbers will make up for it.”

He has wooed the former executive creative director of creations at Cirque du Soleil to join him. Welby Altidor will oversee the creative direction of all Cityneon’s blockbuster exhibitions. Tan is also trying to restructure Cityneon’s other businesses, which include designing and building theme parks, pavilions and expos. He reckons the margins of these businesses will improve as he brings costs down and wins more contracts.

From neon lights to dinosaurs

Cityneon started out 61 years ago as a supplier of electrical appliances and neon lights. It later expanded into doing installation works for retailers and exhibitors. The company was listed in 2005. Three years later, Malaysia-listed Star Media Group bought a controlling stake in Cityneon.

When Cityneon found Tan in 2014, the company was battling stagnating revenue growth. Tan, on the other hand, was running the very exciting business of building exhibition booths featuring Marvel characters. His company, Victory Hill Exhibitions, had designed an initiation ceremony for exhibition visitors to be inducted into the Avengers team. The whole set included interactive superheroes, quizzes and high-tech gadgetry, and had managed to earn rave reviews from fans of the comic series and the blessings of Disney and its subsidiary Marvel.

Aiming to lift its earnings and win over investors, Cityneon acquired Victory Hill for $20 million in August 2015. Cityneon raised $15.9 million through a one-for-one rights issued at 18 cents each to finance the acquisition. It also issued Tan 45 million Cityneon shares at 20 cents each.

The acquisition of Victory Hill has increased Cityneon’s market value by more than six fold – from $40 million in 2014 to $264 million today. Shares of Cityneon, after adjusting for splits, have returned just over 380% over the last three years. Last year, the company earnings per share grew 290% to three cents.

But Tan always felt that he could do more. And earlier this year, he got his chance. Hong Kong private equity firm ZHJ Capital told Tan that a couple of Chinese investors were interested in working with him. ZHJ had backed Starclouds Entertainment Development, which is Cityneon’s partner for the operation of the Transformers Experience in China, Macau and Hong Kong.

After meeting these investors – Geng Zhihua, a Chinese investor with a focus on high-growth companies, and Hong Kong listed packaging manufacturer Jin Bao Bao Holdings (now known as Teamway International Group) – Tan decided to join hands with them. He had received offers from other investors with potentially better financial terms, but he wanted someone he could work with. “I needed a partner who would agree with what I want to do,” he says, “a partner who would give me a certain amount of autonomy to do what I want to do to bring [Cityneon] to the next stage.” He adds that these investors have contacts in China. “They put forth a couple of introductions for us there that could [lead to potential partners for our exhibitions].”

The three parties formed a special purpose vehicle called Lucrum 1 Investment to make a takeover offer to Star Media in May this year. Star Media disposed of its 52.5% stake or 128.5 million shares at 90 cents each, bagging a $68.7 million disposal gain. Lucrum now owns 69% of Cityneon while Tan owns 15.5% of Lucrum.

Cityneon has since announced a new board of five members, consisting of Tan, the chief financial officer of Teamway International Group, and three independent directors. Shares in Cityneon have come up 18% since the announcement of the takeover offer, closing at $1.065 on Sept 14.

Profitable business

The movie-based exhibitions business, which Cityneon calls its intellectual property rights segment, is the company’s most profitable segment. It made up 18.3% of revenue last year, but 60% of earnings. For 1HFY2017 ended June, revenue from the IP business increased 60.8% to $16.5 million. It made up 33% of the group’s revenue. Earnings for the period rose 62.4% to $7.7 million.

Analysts expect Cityneon to book higher revenues and earnings following the acquisition of the IP for Jurassic World, which Cityneon will have the rights for till 2027. Cityneon paid an upfront fee of US$20 million for these rights. An additional US$5 million due if the sets make US$5 million earnings for the 12 months to January 2018. “Given such a strong franchise and track record, its purchase price of five times forward earnings is attractive, versus the 7.5 times earnings that Cityneon paid for Victory Hill Exhibitions,” says CIMB Research.

The Jurassic World exhibition saw 430,000 visitors in the six months it was display in Melbourne, Australia, and 400, 000 visitors over five months in Philadelphia, the US. Tan expects more than one million visitors for Cityneon’s Chicago Jurassic World set, which has been on display since late May and will end its run in January 2018. “The Chiago exhibition is bigger than previous sets. We have more velociraptors running around,” he says.

The exhibition will tour two other US cities after Chicago. Tan says Cityneon is building another set for Asia, a process that takes about five months. The company is likely to produce a one-off exhibition for Jurassic Park’s 25th anniversary. UOB Kay Hian projects yearly visitors of 600,000 for Jurassic World.

Tan also has a pipeline of Transformers and Avengers exhibitions until 2019. Cityneon has one permanent Avengers exhibition in Las Vegas and three travelling Avengers sets. The first is in Taiwan until this month end. Analysts say this set is expected to tour three countries in Europe after, ending its run in 2Q2019. The second set is in Beijing, China. The third will tour Sydney, Australia, starting March 2018. A Transformers set will debut in China this coming November.

For travelling exhibitions, Cityneon typically partners other players that will take on operational risks. Cityneon takes an upfront fee and a 20% to 30% royalty fee on everything ranging from tickets to sponsorship. It also takes a cut from merchandise sales. According to CIMB, 10% of tickets sales is payable to Marvel.

For Cityneon, the biggest risk is the cost associated with building the display. The first exhibition of a new IP can be very costly. The first Jurassic World set cost US$6 million, and subsequent installations cost US$5 million. Nevertheless, the payback can be lucrative. The gross profit margin for a travelling set is around 85%, while that for a permanent exhibition is around 60%. The Jurassic World exhibition recorded a net profit of $3.3 million for the period between April and December 2016.

“These exhibits are evergreen and remain successful long after the movie run in theatres,” says Al Lieberman, executive director of the entertainment, media and technology programme at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “In some ways, it is the reason for the continuing success of Madame Tussaud’s wax collection of movie, music and television stars.”

CIMB projects Cityneon’s earnings to be $15.5 million this year and $22.8 million in 2018 – up substantially from $6.7 million in FY2016. The new projections are based on higher revenue contributions from the Jurassic World IP, additional financing costs for bank borrowings, higher capital expenditure for new sets and a stronger oder book from Cityneon’s other businesses. The brokerage has a “buy” call and a price target of $1.40.

UOB Key Hian, too, has a “buy” call but a more bullish price target $1.50. “We raise our 2018 to 2019 net profit estimates by 12.2% and 7.5% respectively as we account for the new Jurassic World exhibit,” the brokerage says. “We have removed our dividend forecast as the group focuses on expansion. The stock now trades at a bargin of 10.1 times FY2018 forward earnings versus its peers’ average of 15.4 times FY2018 forward earnings, with a superior ROE.”

Posted on: 15th September, 2017

When Victory Hill Exhibitions (wholly-owned Subsidiary of Cityneon Holdings) launched its first Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N in New York, its chief executive officer Ron Tan feared that the company was simply not cut out for the job. “I nearly lost everything in our first exhibition in New York. I totally underestimated the scale of this project,” he shares. “I had only three full-time staff and over a hundred part-time contractors. And we were going to transform 20,000 sq ft of space by ourselves.”

Three years after that first exhibition, Tan just smiles at the memory and all the hardships. “Marvel came by seventeen times and didn’t allow us to open at first. I guess we didn’t look like we can deliver what we said we will deliver then” he says.

After Cityneon Holdings acquired Victory Hill Exhibitions, it transformed Cityneon into a $250 million favorite at the Singapore Stock Exchange. “The new business created a brand new dimension for Cityneon. Look at Avengers S.T.A.T.l.O.N.,” Tan says. “There is only one brand in the whole world. Media companies want content; they want real high end content. We are a content company, and when we entered Singapore we had zero execution risk. Because of our products, we don’t really compete for a share of the consumers’ wallet.”

Reinventing a legacy business

Cityneon started out as a family-run supplier of electrical appliances in 1956. Within a few years of its inception, the company expanded its business to include the design and installation of shop displays and retail fronts. This marked the start of its journey to transforming customer touch points into holistic brand experiences, culminating in the incorporation of Cityneon Displays and Construction.

By the early 70s, the group clinched a partnership with the Australian Trade Commission to erect booths and provide logistical support for their “Made in Australia” marquis exhibition – the first of its kind to be hosted in Singapore. It proved to be the turning point for the company, as it enabled Cityneon to showcase its creative prowess at an international stage, thus opening doors to new frontiers.

Today, the company is known as Cityneon Holdings Limited – a full service ideas agency specialising in transforming customer and brand experiences, encompassing four independent yet integrated business divisions. These divisions are Interior Architecture, Experiential Environments, Events and Exhibitions.

Perfecting the craft

The group has made its name building theme parks across the Asia Pacific and constructing expo pavilions in several parts of the Middle East.

According to Tan, the group was involved by being one of the agencies appointed in creating the aesthetics of the major theme parks. Tan is also proud of their office in Bahrain which specializes in expo pavilions. This office, Tan proudly shares, has never failed to deliver a profit. The company also has projects in Oman and Qatar.

These pavilions are pretty exciting, and they’re all government-run projects. There are big expos happening in 2020 in Dubai, and we’re really looking forward to that,” the CEO notes.

Apart from working with industry giants, the group is also focusing a lot of its energy and creativity on interior architecture. “We have a big project with the Brunei Palace for the interior design of one of their palaces. We also have a couple of big projects in Vietnam; we’re working with international hotel chains such as Sheraton and we also worked with RWS Singapore. We are in charge of the interiors of their hotels there,” Tan notes.

Aside from major hotels, the group also handles logistics for sports events. It has long been a mainstay at Formula 1 in Singapore, and it has also worked for locally­ held international events such as the Asian Games, Youth Olympics, and the Southeast Asian Games. Cityneon Holdings Limited also handled the Youth Olympics in Nanjing.

“These are the five business segments of Cityneon today,” Tan says, in reference to the aforementioned projects. “These are what we call the four traditional businesses. We also have what we call new frontiers, such as the intellectual property businesses. This was born from our long engagement with major studios such as Marvel and Hasbro. Those businesses need a lot of support from the old businesses. There’s a lot of the old and new coming together. That chemistry allows us to propel this new business to where it is today,” Tan notes.

Victory Hill Exhibitions (VHE)

In 2015, Cityneon acquired Victory Hill Exhibitions, a widely successful immersive attractions company that focuses on delivering visual-appealing, engaging, educational and interactive “ready-to­-showcase” exhibitions, designed to wow viewers’ senses. Both Cityneon and Victory Hill Exhibitions are recognized as leaders in their respective industries.

“Intellectual property for the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N. belongs to us until 2024. We produced everything from scratch, and we launched our first exhibition in New York. From there we went to Seoul, then to Paris, Las Vegas, Singapore, Beijing and Taipei,” Tan says. Victory Hill Exhibitions (VHE) has also opened an Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N. recently, just within the month of May 2017. They are also looking to open an Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N. in far west of Europe next year.

While other media companies despair over viewers’ increasingly shorter attention spans, Tan believes that Cityneon’s strength lies precisely in the experience that they offer to their clients.

“We are not an exhibition company,” he stresses. “Nobody pays to enter an exhibition; they pay for the experience. The whole Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N. is about experience. You are part of a world which is under attack. It is the experience that matters.”

Staying ahead of the pack

“In the space of a year, the company has grown over ten times, transforming from a $20 million company to a $250 million company. It’s pretty amazing. Even our old shareholders are thrilled,” Tan shares.

Cityneon’s transformation has allowed it to explore new ground and leave its former competitors behind. “We used to put in a tender for jobs, then we wait, then we pray. But those business models don’t work anymore. Any project that requires a tender results in a price competition. At the end of the day, no one wins,” Tan says.

When Tan came to the helm, he realized that the only way to move forward was to manage the company’s ballooning overhead costs. He was determined to cut them.

“We are in an economy that is quite tight. This is the reason why we decided to cut our overhead costs. When I first came into this company our overhead costs were $25 million. It went down to about $19 million; now we have cut it to $15 million. This allowed us to pick and choose projects with higher margins. I’ve never been a fan of tendering for projects,” he notes.

The secret to success

Tan knows that Cityneon’s success relies on the strength of its products. While popularity is beyond the company’s control, the fact that it is backed by two of the world’s best studios puts them at an advantage. To ensure profitability and sustainability, the company only selects movies which have grossed over $1 billion worldwide and have guaranteed sequels. For Cityneon, product is king, and their projects speak for their triumph as a brand.

Cityneon’s success was recognized this year at the Singapore Business Review Awards. In a gala night held at the Conrad Centennial Singapore last June 08, Cityneon Holdings won a National Business Award in the Diversified Services category for their execution of the project “Sultanate of Oman National Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015”.

Their subsidiary Victory Hill Exhibitions dominated the Media and Entertainment category at the International Business Awards . They were lauded for their immersive attraction exhibition, “Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N.’ that boasts of its visual appeal, educational content and entertainment value. This is Victory Hill Exhibitions’ first International Business Award.

Posted on: 15th September, 2017

When Victory Hill Exhibitions (wholly-owned Subsidiary of Cityneon Holdings) launched its first Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N in New York, its chief executive officer Ron Tan feared that the company was simply not cut out for the job. “I nearly lost everything in our first exhibition in New York. I totally underestimated the scale of this project,” he shares. “I had only three full-time staff and over a hundred part-time contractors. And we were going to transform 20,000 sq ft of space by ourselves.”

Three years after that first exhibition, Tan just smiles at the memory and all the hardships. “Marvel came by seventeen times and didn’t allow us to open at first. I guess we didn’t look like we can deliver what we said we will deliver then” he says.

After Cityneon Holdings acquired Victory Hill Exhibitions, it transformed Cityneon into a $250 million favorite at the Singapore Stock Exchange. “The new business created a brand new dimension for Cityneon. Look at Avengers S.T.A.T.l.O.N.,” Tan says. “There is only one brand in the whole world. Media companies want content; they want real high end content. We are a content company, and when we entered Singapore we had zero execution risk. Because of our products, we don’t really compete for a share of the consumers’ wallet.”

Reinventing a legacy business

Cityneon started out as a family-run supplier of electrical appliances in 1956. Within a few years of its inception, the company expanded its business to include the design and installation of shop displays and retail fronts. This marked the start of its journey to transforming customer touch points into holistic brand experiences, culminating in the incorporation of Cityneon Displays and Construction.

By the early 70s, the group clinched a partnership with the Australian Trade Commission to erect booths and provide logistical support for their “Made in Australia” marquis exhibition – the first of its kind to be hosted in Singapore. It proved to be the turning point for the company, as it enabled Cityneon to showcase its creative prowess at an international stage, thus opening doors to new frontiers.

Today, the company is known as Cityneon Holdings Limited – a full service ideas agency specialising in transforming customer and brand experiences, encompassing four independent yet integrated business divisions. These divisions are Interior Architecture, Experiential Environments, Events and Exhibitions.

Perfecting the craft

The group has made its name building theme parks across the Asia Pacific and constructing expo pavilions in several parts of the Middle East.

According to Tan, the group was involved by being one of the agencies appointed in creating the aesthetics of the major theme parks. Tan is also proud of their office in Bahrain which specializes in expo pavilions. This office, Tan proudly shares, has never failed to deliver a profit. The company also has projects in Oman and Qatar.

These pavilions are pretty exciting, and they’re all government-run projects. There are big expos happening in 2020 in Dubai, and we’re really looking forward to that,” the CEO notes.

Apart from working with industry giants, the group is also focusing a lot of its energy and creativity on interior architecture. “We have a big project with the Brunei Palace for the interior design of one of their palaces. We also have a couple of big projects in Vietnam; we’re working with international hotel chains such as Sheraton and we also worked with RWS Singapore. We are in charge of the interiors of their hotels there,” Tan notes.

Aside from major hotels, the group also handles logistics for sports events. It has long been a mainstay at Formula 1 in Singapore, and it has also worked for locally­ held international events such as the Asian Games, Youth Olympics, and the Southeast Asian Games. Cityneon Holdings Limited also handled the Youth Olympics in Nanjing.

“These are the five business segments of Cityneon today,” Tan says, in reference to the aforementioned projects. “These are what we call the four traditional businesses. We also have what we call new frontiers, such as the intellectual property businesses. This was born from our long engagement with major studios such as Marvel and Hasbro. Those businesses need a lot of support from the old businesses. There’s a lot of the old and new coming together. That chemistry allows us to propel this new business to where it is today,” Tan notes.

Victory Hill Exhibitions (VHE)

In 2015, Cityneon acquired Victory Hill Exhibitions, a widely successful immersive attractions company that focuses on delivering visual-appealing, engaging, educational and interactive “ready-to­-showcase” exhibitions, designed to wow viewers’ senses. Both Cityneon and Victory Hill Exhibitions are recognized as leaders in their respective industries.

“Intellectual property for the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N. belongs to us until 2024. We produced everything from scratch, and we launched our first exhibition in New York. From there we went to Seoul, then to Paris, Las Vegas, Singapore, Beijing and Taipei,” Tan says. Victory Hill Exhibitions (VHE) has also opened an Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N. recently, just within the month of May 2017. They are also looking to open an Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N. in far west of Europe next year.

While other media companies despair over viewers’ increasingly shorter attention spans, Tan believes that Cityneon’s strength lies precisely in the experience that they offer to their clients.

“We are not an exhibition company,” he stresses. “Nobody pays to enter an exhibition; they pay for the experience. The whole Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N. is about experience. You are part of a world which is under attack. It is the experience that matters.”

Staying ahead of the pack

“In the space of a year, the company has grown over ten times, transforming from a $20 million company to a $250 million company. It’s pretty amazing. Even our old shareholders are thrilled,” Tan shares.

Cityneon’s transformation has allowed it to explore new ground and leave its former competitors behind. “We used to put in a tender for jobs, then we wait, then we pray. But those business models don’t work anymore. Any project that requires a tender results in a price competition. At the end of the day, no one wins,” Tan says.

When Tan came to the helm, he realized that the only way to move forward was to manage the company’s ballooning overhead costs. He was determined to cut them.

“We are in an economy that is quite tight. This is the reason why we decided to cut our overhead costs. When I first came into this company our overhead costs were $25 million. It went down to about $19 million; now we have cut it to $15 million. This allowed us to pick and choose projects with higher margins. I’ve never been a fan of tendering for projects,” he notes.

The secret to success

Tan knows that Cityneon’s success relies on the strength of its products. While popularity is beyond the company’s control, the fact that it is backed by two of the world’s best studios puts them at an advantage. To ensure profitability and sustainability, the company only selects movies which have grossed over $1 billion worldwide and have guaranteed sequels. For Cityneon, product is king, and their projects speak for their triumph as a brand.

Cityneon’s success was recognized this year at the Singapore Business Review Awards. In a gala night held at the Conrad Centennial Singapore last June 08, Cityneon Holdings won a National Business Award in the Diversified Services category for their execution of the project “Sultanate of Oman National Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015”.

Their subsidiary Victory Hill Exhibitions dominated the Media and Entertainment category at the International Business Awards . They were lauded for their immersive attraction exhibition, “Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N.’ that boasts of its visual appeal, educational content and entertainment value. This is Victory Hill Exhibitions’ first International Business Award.

Posted on: 31st August, 2017

Getting up close and personal with the dinosaurs of Jurassic World is now closer to home.

The major spectacle, inspired by the Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic Park franchise, now belongs to Cityneon Holdings, a creator of innovative and interactive exhibitions in Singapore.

The mainboard-listed company has acquired full global rights to Jur­assic World Exhibition when it entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire all of JP Exhibitions LLC for US$25 million.

The move allows Cityneon to make full use of the exhibition’s intellectual property (IP) rights in partner­ship with global movie titan Universal Studios, it announced in a Singapore Exchange filing on Wednesday evening.

Jurassic World: The Exhibition is a licensed spin-off from the blockbuster movie Jurassic World, and it brings dinosaurs to life through life-size animatronic and com­puter-generated imagery (CGI) ef­fects.

The latest purchase is Cityneon’s third IP acquisition and association with a blockbuster movie franchise. The first two were Disney’s Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N. and Hasbro’s Transformers Autobot Alliance.

The Jurassic World Exhibition ac­quisition also came in the wake of Lucrum 1 Investment’s procurement of 52.5 per cent of Cityneon shares from its previous major shareholder for about US$85 million in July.

It made Lucrum 1, a consortium led by executive chairman and group CEO of Cityneon Ron Tan, the group’s largest shareholder.

With this latest acquisition, Cityneon is able to bring a multi-sens­ory dinosaur experience to “even more markets around Asia and the rest of the world”, Mr Tan said.

He said Cityneon has always “sought to engage audiences with rich, hands-on experiences that resonate with their interests and aspira­tions”.

“With Jurassic World: The Exhibition, we affirm once again our com­mitment to offer all our visitors a stir­ring, unforgettable, interactive experi­ence,” he said, adding that the group will begin to construct a second im­mersive experience set immediately.

Vice-president of live entertainment at Universal Brand Development Carol Nygren said: “With the continued global strength of the Jurassic World brand, we’re devoted to bringing the exhibition to fans worldwide and seeing their excitement to be immersed in the world of Jurassic dino­saurs.”

Tom Zaller, manager of JP Exhibi­tions and president of Imagine Exhibitions, added: “This new relationship with Cityneon offers a great promise for all parties involved; Cityneon un­derstands the industry and has the ability to expand on the incredible success of the exhibition.”

Jurassic World: The Exhibition was developed in close collaboration with renowned palaeontologist Jack Horner, who served as the adviser on Jurassic World, the movie.

The exhibition is imbued with in­teractive educational elements, in­spired by the real-world science of di­nosaur DNA that allowed Jurassic World to come to life. Visitors will ex­plore a towering brachiosaurus, come face-to-face with a velociraptor, and get a rare up-close look at the most vi­cious dinosaur of them all, the tyran­nosaurus rex.

Posted on: 31st August, 2017

Getting up close and personal with the dinosaurs of Jurassic World is now closer to home.

The major spectacle, inspired by the Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic Park franchise, now belongs to Cityneon Holdings, a creator of innovative and interactive exhibitions in Singapore.

The mainboard-listed company has acquired full global rights to Jur­assic World Exhibition when it entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire all of JP Exhibitions LLC for US$25 million.

The move allows Cityneon to make full use of the exhibition’s intellectual property (IP) rights in partner­ship with global movie titan Universal Studios, it announced in a Singapore Exchange filing on Wednesday evening.

Jurassic World: The Exhibition is a licensed spin-off from the blockbuster movie Jurassic World, and it brings dinosaurs to life through life-size animatronic and com­puter-generated imagery (CGI) ef­fects.

The latest purchase is Cityneon’s third IP acquisition and association with a blockbuster movie franchise. The first two were Disney’s Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.0.N. and Hasbro’s Transformers Autobot Alliance.

The Jurassic World Exhibition ac­quisition also came in the wake of Lucrum 1 Investment’s procurement of 52.5 per cent of Cityneon shares from its previous major shareholder for about US$85 million in July.

It made Lucrum 1, a consortium led by executive chairman and group CEO of Cityneon Ron Tan, the group’s largest shareholder.

With this latest acquisition, Cityneon is able to bring a multi-sens­ory dinosaur experience to “even more markets around Asia and the rest of the world”, Mr Tan said.

He said Cityneon has always “sought to engage audiences with rich, hands-on experiences that resonate with their interests and aspira­tions”.

“With Jurassic World: The Exhibition, we affirm once again our com­mitment to offer all our visitors a stir­ring, unforgettable, interactive experi­ence,” he said, adding that the group will begin to construct a second im­mersive experience set immediately.

Vice-president of live entertainment at Universal Brand Development Carol Nygren said: “With the continued global strength of the Jurassic World brand, we’re devoted to bringing the exhibition to fans worldwide and seeing their excitement to be immersed in the world of Jurassic dino­saurs.”

Tom Zaller, manager of JP Exhibi­tions and president of Imagine Exhibitions, added: “This new relationship with Cityneon offers a great promise for all parties involved; Cityneon un­derstands the industry and has the ability to expand on the incredible success of the exhibition.”

Jurassic World: The Exhibition was developed in close collaboration with renowned palaeontologist Jack Horner, who served as the adviser on Jurassic World, the movie.

The exhibition is imbued with in­teractive educational elements, in­spired by the real-world science of di­nosaur DNA that allowed Jurassic World to come to life. Visitors will ex­plore a towering brachiosaurus, come face-to-face with a velociraptor, and get a rare up-close look at the most vi­cious dinosaur of them all, the tyran­nosaurus rex.

Posted on: 30th August, 2017

Event and exhibition services provider Cityneon Holdings is making its third intellectual property (IP) acquisition by purchasing a 100% stake in JP Exhibitions from its owners for US$25 million ($34 million).

This will grant the company IP rights to Jurassic World: The Exhibition – a licensed spin-off from the blockbuster movie, Jurassic World – in partnership with Universal Studios Licensing.

JP Exhibitions secured the rights to Jurassic World: The Exhibition through a global licence between Imagine Exhibitions and Universal Licensing, and has been touring the exhibition since 2016.

The exhibition is expected to hit the 1 million visitor milestone in Chicago, US, where it is currently based until Jan 7 next year.

In a press release on Wednesday, Cityneon says the acquisition, which it intends to fund with existing cash and bank borrowings, also marks the group’s third time being associated a blockbuster movie franchise.

Previously, the company acquired the IP rights to Disney’s Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. and launched the attraction in seven cities across three continents. It also owns the rights to Hasbro’s Transformers Autobot Alliance, which is scheduled to be premiered in mainland China in end 2017.

“We are thrilled to be part of Universal Studio’s Jurassic World franchise, and we can’t wait to bring this immersive attraction to even more markets, around Asia and the rest of the world,” says Ron Tan, executive chairman and group CEO of Cityneon.

“To enable Jurassic World – The Exhibition to reach even more people, we will begin to construct a second immersive experience set immediately,” he adds.

Shares in Cityneon closed 3 cents higher at $1.01 on Wednesday.

Posted on: 30th August, 2017

Event and exhibition services provider Cityneon Holdings is making its third intellectual property (IP) acquisition by purchasing a 100% stake in JP Exhibitions from its owners for US$25 million ($34 million).

This will grant the company IP rights to Jurassic World: The Exhibition – a licensed spin-off from the blockbuster movie, Jurassic World – in partnership with Universal Studios Licensing.

JP Exhibitions secured the rights to Jurassic World: The Exhibition through a global licence between Imagine Exhibitions and Universal Licensing, and has been touring the exhibition since 2016.

The exhibition is expected to hit the 1 million visitor milestone in Chicago, US, where it is currently based until Jan 7 next year.

In a press release on Wednesday, Cityneon says the acquisition, which it intends to fund with existing cash and bank borrowings, also marks the group’s third time being associated a blockbuster movie franchise.

Previously, the company acquired the IP rights to Disney’s Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. and launched the attraction in seven cities across three continents. It also owns the rights to Hasbro’s Transformers Autobot Alliance, which is scheduled to be premiered in mainland China in end 2017.

“We are thrilled to be part of Universal Studio’s Jurassic World franchise, and we can’t wait to bring this immersive attraction to even more markets, around Asia and the rest of the world,” says Ron Tan, executive chairman and group CEO of Cityneon.

“To enable Jurassic World – The Exhibition to reach even more people, we will begin to construct a second immersive experience set immediately,” he adds.

Shares in Cityneon closed 3 cents higher at $1.01 on Wednesday.

Posted on: 3rd April, 2017

Sure, it’s a tough job being a member of The Avengers, fending off super-villains hell-bent on taking over the world and destroying major cities while they’re at it.

But have you ever tried putting on an exhibition about The Avengers in New York?

“It was a nightmare,” recounts Cityneon chief executive Ron Tan, the veritable superhero who has indeed pulled off such a feat and lived to tell the tale. “Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.”

Mr Tan, 46, is the man behind Marvel’s Avengers Station, a high-tech interactive exhibition where fans of the movie franchise can learn more about the characters’ back stories, view film props and costumes and even undergo physical tests to see if they can become one of The Avengers too.

The exhibition, which recently ended its run in Singapore, first debuted in New York in 2013, and has since travelled to Seoul, Paris and Las Vegas. It is set to open in China, Taiwan and Australia later this year.

Avengers Station has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors across the world with the backing of Marvel, which is owned by global behemoth Disney.

NIGHTMARE PROJECT

“We took up 50,000 sq ft of space in Valencia, California, to build the exhibition, which was going to debut in New York. We built everything ourselves. It was a nightmare because we’d never built anything of this scale before. We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of U-turns, blew the budget and couldn’t open on time.” MR RON TAN, Cityneon chief executive, on how everything that could go wrong, did go wrong when he and his colleagues tried to build the first The Avengers Station.

And it all began with Mr Tan and two friends, who dreamed up the idea for The Avengers Station in Singapore in 2011. His inspiration, he said, was Cirque du Soleil.

“In 2008, I picked up a book about Cirque du Soleil and (read about) how its founder, Guy Laliberte, transformed the whole circus industry,” he said.

“He was the first person to put on a human-only circus. People thought he was crazy for not including any animals in his circus. Instead, he used music and stories, on which each show was based. What he did was amazing – Cirque du Soleil, in its heyday, had up to 12 installations along the Las Vegas strip alone at any one time.”

Mr Tan wanted to do something similar in the exhibition business, by tapping the intellectual property and brand cache of a global franchise and conjuring up an immersive live experience for fans.

“And so, like Cirque du Soleil, we started with a script. When you visit The Avengers Station, you are a recruit. You are told: ‘The world is under attack. Are you ready to defend Earth alongside The Avengers?’ ” he said.

“You are given a recruit card. But in order to join the team of superheroes, you have to learn more about your partners. So at every station, you learn why Bruce Banner turns into the Incredible Hulk when he’s angry, why Captain America could be frozen for so many years, and so on. Then you take tests and once you pass the tests, you are welcomed as a member of The Avengers family and you can buy a membership card.”

He and his friends thought they had come up with a brilliant idea. There was only one small catch – they did not actually know anyone at Marvel or its parent company Disney, to give them the rights to make their idea come to life.

But no matter – through sheer determination and “six degrees of connections”, they got to the right people and made their big pitch. Long story short, Marvel and Disney liked the idea and gave them a shot.

“It was a blessing. Imagine – this giant corporation gave us the right to represent one of their brands. The guy who signed that contract could have lost his job if something went wrong. At the time, our company was so small. In fact, we didn’t even have a company. There were three of us and an idea,” Mr Tan recalled.

The three officially formed a company, Victory Hill Exhibitions (VHE), once they got the formal contract. And then came the hard part. “We took up 50,000 sq ft of space in Valencia, California, to build the exhibition, which was going to debut in New York. We built everything ourselves. It was a nightmare because we’d never built anything of this scale before. We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of U-turns, blew the budget and couldn’t open on time.”

Executives from Marvel and Disney checked in on the project 17 times before it opened, to make sure everything was up to their standards.

“When we finally opened I thought the nightmare was over but I was wrong. Screens were not working, interactive exhibits were not working, and so on. I was here in Singapore and had to handle these technical issues that I didn’t know how to handle. It was a lot of firefighting. We just didn’t have the infrastructure to deal with all the issues.”

Still, the exhibition was deemed a big success overall and received rave reviews, including from comic-book writer and former Marvel Comics chairman Stan Lee. It was set to go places.

In late 2014, Mr Tan was introduced to Cityneon and about a year later, the Singapore-listed firm bought over VHE.

Some entrepreneurs may baulk at the idea of selling a company just four years after its founding but Mr Tan said the confluence of opportunities was too hard to resist.

“We were talking to Hasbro at that point in time and Hasbro holds the intellectual property rights to Transformers. They liked what we had done with The Avengers, and so the opportunity was there for us to do something with Transformers. To make it happen, we needed more money,” he said.

“We were approached at the same time by a company that wanted to take The Avengers experience to Las Vegas, and that deal required a capital investment. That opportunity couldn’t wait for me. Finally, I also saw an opportunity there because Cityneon is the kind of company that should be building Avengers Station sets.”

The takeover has worked out for all parties. Cityneon has since grown its market capitalisation from less than $20 million in 2014 to over $200 million today. And VHE has the tools and funds it needs to execute its events at the scale needed.

“Now, we have the infrastructure, systems and money to grow. Now, I have a chief technology officer to handle any technical issues that crop up. I don’t get a single call now about tech,” Mr Tan said, laughing.

Cityneon’s previous managing director Ko Chee Wah retired in July last year, and Mr Tan was appointed group chief executive officer in January.

He is excited about the journey ahead, even as the firm is facing some challenges. Given the uncertain economic climate, it is streamlining and is cutting 50 staff across Asia, as part of efforts to slash operating expenses by $4 million this year. After the cuts, the firm will have about 200 staff globally.

With rights to The Avengers and Transformers, Cityneon now has two of the world’s largest pop culture icons under its belt.

“We are looking at acquiring a third intellectual property. We have two criteria that we set – the movie should perform above US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) globally so that we know there’s a global demand. And it should have sequels so that there’s sustainable demand,” Mr Tan said.

The options are limited. There are fewer than 20 films that meet those criteria, and movies from The Avengers and Transformers stables make up 10 of them.

The firm, which built Universal Studios Singapore, is also making strong headway in its theme-park business, and is focusing on clinching more theme-park construction projects in North Asia. Again, the focus here is on theme parks backed by an international brand, Mr Tan said.

Despite the economic climate, the path ahead still looks very exciting, he said. “From where we were at VHE, to where we are right now, it’s been a huge leap. At Cityneon, we are still a very small company. We are a growth company.”

Posted on: 3rd April, 2017

Sure, it’s a tough job being a member of The Avengers, fending off super-villains hell-bent on taking over the world and destroying major cities while they’re at it.

But have you ever tried putting on an exhibition about The Avengers in New York?

“It was a nightmare,” recounts Cityneon chief executive Ron Tan, the veritable superhero who has indeed pulled off such a feat and lived to tell the tale. “Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.”

Mr Tan, 46, is the man behind Marvel’s Avengers Station, a high-tech interactive exhibition where fans of the movie franchise can learn more about the characters’ back stories, view film props and costumes and even undergo physical tests to see if they can become one of The Avengers too.

The exhibition, which recently ended its run in Singapore, first debuted in New York in 2013, and has since travelled to Seoul, Paris and Las Vegas. It is set to open in China, Taiwan and Australia later this year.

Avengers Station has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors across the world with the backing of Marvel, which is owned by global behemoth Disney.

NIGHTMARE PROJECT

“We took up 50,000 sq ft of space in Valencia, California, to build the exhibition, which was going to debut in New York. We built everything ourselves. It was a nightmare because we’d never built anything of this scale before. We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of U-turns, blew the budget and couldn’t open on time.” MR RON TAN, Cityneon chief executive, on how everything that could go wrong, did go wrong when he and his colleagues tried to build the first The Avengers Station.

And it all began with Mr Tan and two friends, who dreamed up the idea for The Avengers Station in Singapore in 2011. His inspiration, he said, was Cirque du Soleil.

“In 2008, I picked up a book about Cirque du Soleil and (read about) how its founder, Guy Laliberte, transformed the whole circus industry,” he said.

“He was the first person to put on a human-only circus. People thought he was crazy for not including any animals in his circus. Instead, he used music and stories, on which each show was based. What he did was amazing – Cirque du Soleil, in its heyday, had up to 12 installations along the Las Vegas strip alone at any one time.”

Mr Tan wanted to do something similar in the exhibition business, by tapping the intellectual property and brand cache of a global franchise and conjuring up an immersive live experience for fans.

“And so, like Cirque du Soleil, we started with a script. When you visit The Avengers Station, you are a recruit. You are told: ‘The world is under attack. Are you ready to defend Earth alongside The Avengers?’ ” he said.

“You are given a recruit card. But in order to join the team of superheroes, you have to learn more about your partners. So at every station, you learn why Bruce Banner turns into the Incredible Hulk when he’s angry, why Captain America could be frozen for so many years, and so on. Then you take tests and once you pass the tests, you are welcomed as a member of The Avengers family and you can buy a membership card.”

He and his friends thought they had come up with a brilliant idea. There was only one small catch – they did not actually know anyone at Marvel or its parent company Disney, to give them the rights to make their idea come to life.

But no matter – through sheer determination and “six degrees of connections”, they got to the right people and made their big pitch. Long story short, Marvel and Disney liked the idea and gave them a shot.

“It was a blessing. Imagine – this giant corporation gave us the right to represent one of their brands. The guy who signed that contract could have lost his job if something went wrong. At the time, our company was so small. In fact, we didn’t even have a company. There were three of us and an idea,” Mr Tan recalled.

The three officially formed a company, Victory Hill Exhibitions (VHE), once they got the formal contract. And then came the hard part. “We took up 50,000 sq ft of space in Valencia, California, to build the exhibition, which was going to debut in New York. We built everything ourselves. It was a nightmare because we’d never built anything of this scale before. We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of U-turns, blew the budget and couldn’t open on time.”

Executives from Marvel and Disney checked in on the project 17 times before it opened, to make sure everything was up to their standards.

“When we finally opened I thought the nightmare was over but I was wrong. Screens were not working, interactive exhibits were not working, and so on. I was here in Singapore and had to handle these technical issues that I didn’t know how to handle. It was a lot of firefighting. We just didn’t have the infrastructure to deal with all the issues.”

Still, the exhibition was deemed a big success overall and received rave reviews, including from comic-book writer and former Marvel Comics chairman Stan Lee. It was set to go places.

In late 2014, Mr Tan was introduced to Cityneon and about a year later, the Singapore-listed firm bought over VHE.

Some entrepreneurs may baulk at the idea of selling a company just four years after its founding but Mr Tan said the confluence of opportunities was too hard to resist.

“We were talking to Hasbro at that point in time and Hasbro holds the intellectual property rights to Transformers. They liked what we had done with The Avengers, and so the opportunity was there for us to do something with Transformers. To make it happen, we needed more money,” he said.

“We were approached at the same time by a company that wanted to take The Avengers experience to Las Vegas, and that deal required a capital investment. That opportunity couldn’t wait for me. Finally, I also saw an opportunity there because Cityneon is the kind of company that should be building Avengers Station sets.”

The takeover has worked out for all parties. Cityneon has since grown its market capitalisation from less than $20 million in 2014 to over $200 million today. And VHE has the tools and funds it needs to execute its events at the scale needed.

“Now, we have the infrastructure, systems and money to grow. Now, I have a chief technology officer to handle any technical issues that crop up. I don’t get a single call now about tech,” Mr Tan said, laughing.

Cityneon’s previous managing director Ko Chee Wah retired in July last year, and Mr Tan was appointed group chief executive officer in January.

He is excited about the journey ahead, even as the firm is facing some challenges. Given the uncertain economic climate, it is streamlining and is cutting 50 staff across Asia, as part of efforts to slash operating expenses by $4 million this year. After the cuts, the firm will have about 200 staff globally.

With rights to The Avengers and Transformers, Cityneon now has two of the world’s largest pop culture icons under its belt.

“We are looking at acquiring a third intellectual property. We have two criteria that we set – the movie should perform above US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) globally so that we know there’s a global demand. And it should have sequels so that there’s sustainable demand,” Mr Tan said.

The options are limited. There are fewer than 20 films that meet those criteria, and movies from The Avengers and Transformers stables make up 10 of them.

The firm, which built Universal Studios Singapore, is also making strong headway in its theme-park business, and is focusing on clinching more theme-park construction projects in North Asia. Again, the focus here is on theme parks backed by an international brand, Mr Tan said.

Despite the economic climate, the path ahead still looks very exciting, he said. “From where we were at VHE, to where we are right now, it’s been a huge leap. At Cityneon, we are still a very small company. We are a growth company.”